New Delhi, May 9 (IANS): Parle Products, the manufacturer of biscuits and confectionaries, was on Thursday roped in as the official title sponsor of the upcoming Indo International Premier Kabaddi League (IIPKL), starting May 13 in Pune.

Eight teams representing eight different regions of India will be seen vying for a winner's cheque of Rs 1.25 crore in the league which is spread across three legs at Pune, Mysore and Bengaluru, which will be the final leg. The IIPKL is a brand new kabaddi league promoted by the New Kabaddi Federation (NKF) and will be broadcast LIVE on DSport along with a Hindi broadcast on MTV, MTV HD+, DDSPORTS & Polimer Music.

Speaking on the association, Mayank Shah, Senior Category Head of Parle Products said: "Being one of the oldest and leading Biscuits and Confectionaries brand in India, we found kabaddi as a sport to have the pan India appeal as our products and IIPKL just came in at the right time for us."

"We have always thrived in making products that cater to the audience from all walks of life across regions and IIPKL's ambitions of making kabaddi reach all corners of India in a real manner promoting young local talent was something that really impressed us to get on board with them as a Title Sponsor. I wish all the participating teams all the very best for the IIPKL," he added.

The inaugural edition of the IIPKL starts on May 13 at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune with Haryana Heroes taking on home side Pune Pride. The Pune Leg will feature another 19 matches till the May 21, post which the league moves to Mysore for its second leg that will be played from May 24-29 while the final leg will be played at the iconic Kanteerava stadium from June 1-4 that would also include the semi-finals and the grand finale.

The IIPKL in its inaugural season will see a total of 44 matches being played between eight franchises -- Bangalore Rhinos, Chennai Challengers, Diler Delhi, Telugu Bulls, Pune Pride, Haryana Heroes, Mumbai Che Raje and Pondicherry Predators.